Abstract
The popular belief that “heart disease is a man’s disease” is increasingly being proven to be a myth. Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among women and emerging evidence demonstrates that the prognosis for women after CHD is much worse than that for men. Pregnancy appears to be a physiological stress test that may identify women at risk of future CHD. Women who experience major complications of pregnancy have a twofold increased risk for later life CHD compared to women who have uncomplicated pregnancies. Postpartum follow-up after pregnancy complications may provide an ideal opportunity in primordial prevention of CHD.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Encyclopedia of Cardiovascular Research and Medicine |
| Editors | Ramachandran S. Vasan, Douglas B. Sawyer |
| Place of Publication | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Pages | 643-650 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Volume | 1-4 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780128051542 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780128096574 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Cardiovascular disease
- Coronary heart disease
- Gestational diabetes
- Gestational hypertension
- Intrauterine growth restriction
- Preeclampsia
- Pregnancy
- Preterm delivery
- SGA